First assignment!!!

Our first assignment is to talk about what we personally think about gender and identity and what it means to us. Honestly when I think about our world and how genders are portrayed it makes me sick and is a touchy subject for me. I like to think of myself as an independent person and I try not to fall into the chaos and madness we live in today; but of coarse no body is perfect and everyone has their own opinions, ideas, weaknesses and so on. I was raised knowing that I was a girl and knowing that my brother was a boy. My parents, just as several other parents do, put me in dresses and bought me barbie dolls. I was involved in girl scouts, YMCA, and soccer. Anything that I wanted to do I was able to do. My parents,or anybody else for that matter, never told me I couldn't do something because I was a girl. Being in YMCA i was exposed to a lot of outdoor adventures, and played competitive soccer for many years so being rough and tough was viewed as a positive thing in my family. They never spoiled me, I never wore name brands, or painted my nails, or really played with Barbies that much. I was more of a tomboy. When I was interested in skate boarding my dad bought me all the gear and took me to the park and tried teaching me. I was the only girl at the skate park that day. I remember feeling weird and not understanding why their was no girls. I got a lot of weird looks from the guys, maybe because I didn't know what I was doing or just because I was a girl. This was the first real time in my life that I ever really noticed differences between genders. I was in sixth grade.

As soon as middle school came around the corner it was like everything changed. Boys started liking girls, girls started wearing bras, puberty was hitting... so on and so on. All of a sudden what was simple was now complex. Then the competition between girls was started and who could be the prettiest, who had the best clothes and body. It was then that being a tomboy was unacceptable and I was peer pressured into changing my lifestyle because of everyone else. In the article "Night to his Day: The Social Construction of Gender" by Judith Lorber I completely agree with what she says. As time goes on yes people are starting to switch rolls (ie. the father on the bus taking care of his child). But what I don't get is that the child is half the mother's and half the father's. When a father leaves a family he should not say "take your kid", and when a mother leaves a family say "I'm taking MY kids." Equal parts have been put into the child. It is THEIR child. So if everything is equal then why are women and men divided? Just like the article says the only difference is the way our bodies are built. Men are built more muscular, and women are built with more fat (ie. breasts) By reading this article it goes to show that men in all cultures feel as though they have the right to be in control over the women. The African women getting rid of the pleasurable parts of their body so they can stay pure for a man and be married.

The way Lorber puts us in categories is completely accurate. On top is the white rich man. That is our idea of the perfect society. With the wife at his side taking care of his kids. Lorber says that we have finally gotten to the point where we are equal in education, but back when women first started going to colleges all they were going for is to find a husband that will take care of them.

I think that women and men are both at equal fault for the way genders are portrayed. Women let men degrade them. Being video girls, half naked shaking their "goodies" in front of men on national T.V just to become famous. What are you becoming famous for? A whore? That is why men think they are in control, because women are sex symbols and child bearers in their eyes. So when strong women try to come above those stereotypes it's just that much harder for them. Then when girls act in a degrading manner men think that all women are like that and it puts pressure on the other women to conform. It's a lot easier to go with the tide instead of against it.

I'm not sure if this class will change my views or just give me more knowledge on a subject that I am very passionate about. Either way I am very excited to learn more and hear different views from other people. Who knows, maybe somebody in this class will completely show me a different way to look at things and I will change my mind. I'm up for the debate. ; )

Nicole : )

Welcoming myself to the blogging world.

Well essentially this blog is for my English 259 class, Gender, Image, and Rhetoric. Even though I've always wanted to have a blog I've never got around to it, and even then who would read it? So finally I have one and would love feed back and comments from anyone and everyone. I'm not that good with technology. It took me about an hour to get this whole thing figured out, so hopefully this experience will not only open my mind to new ideas and thoughts but also help me learn how to navigate through my computer a little easier. ; )

Nicole : )